Day 1

Alrighty folks! A few days ago, I spent some time researching how to approach a tabletop RPG or a one-shot. I wanted a:

• single-player experience and that could be expanded for multiple players, 
• characters would have just a few stats
• players could use game pieces of other games or whatever they have available for gameplay. 
• With the reveal of the theme, I figured Creation would fit well with the idea of a gameplay artifact or "sandcastle", something players would make during play and at the end would become either a keepsake or something they would destroy (maybe consume like a candle or something they'd burn up - safely of course lol).

Between last night and early today, I continued my research, examining soloventure games such as CHVLR (Chevalier) and Wretched and Alone which are bleak, psychological games that explore the difficulty of surviving near impossible scenarios. Gameplay involves:

• Using a deck of playing cards with suits, and each type along with each number represents a series of tasks or actions and the chance of a consequence represented by removing a block from a Jenga tower. 
• If the tower collapses, it's game over. 
• Each phase you draw a card and log or journal (by audio or video, writing, typing, etc) to reflect on the day's events and your state of mind.
• Win scenario is extremely low, around 1% with a 99% chance of failure. Very bleak. Ace of Hearts with 10 tokens removed is your only win condition.

Some other games I was looking into were Goons & Ghosts, and the game that inspired it called Tunnels and Goons. Both of these games have: 

• Simple stats (3-4 stats) and an ability or skill, 
• Simple rules 
• Difficulty scores you roll a 2D6 die against to determine success or failure against something. 
• You make progress on a series of adventures, basically a scenario, until you win.

The games are a lot more lighthearted than CHVLR or Wretched & Alone, and last 2 - 3 hours. I like the variety of ideas these games incorporate, and the gameplay rules involved, especially the creative use of different things such as dice, jenga blocks, and playing cards. 

Using that as a springboard, I started ideating what my game may play like by drawing from my favorite JRPG game called Shining Force. and tapping into a project I've been building on and off for years now. I've been considering what that game would look like in tabletop form by adapting and fine-tuning the game's rules to its essence. Characters with different abilities, stats, and inventory items. Exploration and combat phases. Story progression.

I'm now at a point where I will be building my game's core features, and the MVG - minimum viable game.